Friday, December 16, 2011

Morgan Silver Dollar

Morgan Silver Dollar

I like to collect precious metals. My favorite is Morgan Dollars. They are 90% of an ounce of silver. I like junk silver also, because its small denominations of silver make it a good coin for barter. I don't consider  A Morgan junk silver though. I have been noticing Morgans when purchased from coin shops are for the most part paid as though they are junk. I understand a coin dealer needs to make a living but paying 10% under spot for a Morgan is closer to scalping.  Even a basic run of the mill Morgan is still worth over the silver price as it has a numismatic value above the content of silver. I would trust a Morgan to be authentic before I would trust a bar of silver. There are counterfeit Morgans out there but they are fairly recognizable. Some of the copies are very good but the weight by mass is different than other materials. So in essence the coin size needs to change to meet the same weight as silver. The cheaper fakes are magnetic. I have a fake Morgan that is a good copy from China. It is identical to the other coins except in that it is thicker. It weighs the same as a Morgan in similar condition though.I say "weighs" the same in "similar condition" because the coin will weigh much less when it is worn in circulation. The point I'm making is that the Morgan coin dollar is an easily recognisable coin with a fairly well known value of silver. And since it is well known it is easily used as barter silver. The ease of using this well known coin in barter to me increases it value. A bar for example you would need to go online with the original mint to verify its mas to weight. With a Morgan you simply compare it to a another Morgan that's believed/known authentic.

In a collapsed society you may not have Internet nor the catalogs to verify weight and mass. Not to worry though, If you do find yourself in a post collapse barter deal and your presented with an item that you want to check pure metal content.(first make sure its not magnetic) Ask the person presenting the item if you can scribe test it. If they say no, pass on the deal. If agreed then use a punch or if your crude gouge in-to it with a hack saw. You just need to get through the plating, if it is a plated you will know when brake the plating. Most silver fakes are copper under the plating.

Since we are on the subject of fake; "pure German silver" is not silver, it is a nickel copper composition. Also all the fake Morgans I have seen were in 18 hundreds era, It is not to say that a 19 hundreds one was never forged. But I use a little more caution with the 18 hundreds Morgans. To make the full circle back to junk silver, very few of these small coins would be a counterfeit because it is just to small of a denomination for any forger worth his salt, to invest the time and energy to, produce a quality counterfeit. Why make a dime when you can make a dollar.

Perhaps the best all around form of silver is the junk; dimes and quarters.

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